Wednesday, December 9, 2015

You could almost hear the sighs of relief from Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and other Republican presidential hopefuls when Donald Trump announced that he would not be running as a candidate in the 2012 presidential campaign. Trump's official statement read in part:

After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency. This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country. I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election.

I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half-heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector...

I look forward to supporting the candidate who is the most qualified to help us tackle our country's most important issues and am hopeful that, when this person emerges, he or she will have the courage to take on the challenges of the Office and be the agent of change that this country so desperately needs.

Not surprisingly, political pundits quickly began trying to decipher reasons for his decision. Some said that Trump’s business interests were at the center of it, noting that his popular reality show "Celebrity Apprentice" was renewed on NBC and he “had to decide if he was going to be back as its host or run for president.”

Others claimed that they never thought Trump would run because of the requirement that candidates file a financial disclosure form. Whatever the reasons, one thing is clear: the 2012 presidential campaign was not nearly as entertaining without Trump as a contender.

One of the more entertaining political events recently, of course, was the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner, where President Obama “exercised his revenge" after weeks of attacks from Trump, "joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden.”

With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star's presidential ambitions. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of "Celebrity Apprentice" to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama's birthplace.

Focusing on Trump's decision to fire Busey instead of rock singer Meat Loaf on a recent episode of the TV show, President Obama quipped, “These are the types of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir.”

While he took the president’s ribbing in good humor, Trump was clearly not amused by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyer, who was the emcee of the event and picked up where President Obama left off. “Donald Trump has been saying he will run for president as a Republican,” Meyers said, “which is surprising, because I just assumed that he was running as a joke.

Of course, The Donald is no stranger to fine dining. His luxurious destination resort The Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida offers “an extraordinary culinary experience for its members and their guests who can choose from Continental, New World, Classical and New Caribbean cuisine."

And every Wednesday evening, according to the resort's website, guests can enjoy a Six Star Seafood Night dinner buffet that features “a sumptuous array consisting of an appetizer table, two pound lobsters, freshly grilled fish and meat items, salads and a dessert bar accompanied by a saxophonist under the stars.”

Sounds tempting, but for those who prefer more casual fare, you can’t go wrong with Trump's delicious Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers, which got rave reviews from none other than Oprah Winfrey herself. “I believe [it] may be the best turkey burger in the entire world," Oprah is quoted on her wesbite as saying.

If you'd like to make some Mar-a-Lago Turkey Burgers this weekend (and who wouldn't with that kind of celebrity endorsement?) here is the original recipe from Oprah.com:

Sauté the scallions, celery and apples in the canola oil until tender. Let cool. Place the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add sautéed items and the remaining ingredients. Shape into eight 8-ounce burgers. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Season the turkey burgers with salt and pepper.

Place on a preheated, lightly oiled grill. Grill each side for 7 minutes until meat is thoroughly cooked. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with a side of Mar-a-Lago Pear Chutney and your favorite toasted bread, pita or hamburger roll.

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George Washington (1789-1797)

So did you know that by the time he became president, George Washington had lost almost all of his teeth? Because of constant pain constant from ill-fitting dentures, he had to eat soft foods (like fish and hoe cakes) throughout most of his adult life. Contrary to popular belief, George didn't wear a set of wooden dentures. Instead, a talented dentist named John Greenwood hand-crafted his dentures with elephant ivory, hippopotamus tusks, and parts of human and donkey teeth. Eek!

John Adams (1797-1801)

On November 1, 1800, John Adams arrived in the new federal city of Washington, DC and moved into the President’s House. The next day, while sitting in a damp, unfinished room, John wrote a letter to his wife Abigail which included a blessing for the new house and its future inhabitants. This is what he wrote: "I Pray Heaven to Bestow THE BEST of BLESSINGS on This House and All That Hereafter Shall Inhabit It. May None but Honest and Wise Men Ever Rule Under this Roof." More than a century later, in the final year of World War II, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had these words inscribed in gold just under the mantle on the fireplace in the State Dining Room -- and Adams' words are still there today!

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)

Did you know that Jefferson’s vegetable garden at Monticello was 1,000 feet long and contained more than 250 varieties of more than 75 species of plants from around the world? Biographers say that Jefferson’s favorite vegetable was the English pea, but he was also fond of tomatoes, turnip greens and French beans.

James Madison (1809-1817)

Legend has it that in the 19th century, a freed slave named Sallie Shadd went into her family’s catering business in Delaware. Sallie supposedly achieved fame among the free black population there for a new dessert sensation she created with frozen cream, sugar, and fruit. When Dolley Madison heard about it, she supposedly travelled to Delaware to try it, and must've loved it because a “magnificent pink dome of ice cream” was served at President Madison’s second Inaugural Ball in 1813, and ice cream often appeared as the official dessert on the White House menu during her husband's two terms of office!

James Monroe (1817-1825)

In June 1817, two and a half months after he took office, President Monroe embarked on a "Goodwill Tour" of the United States. Paying expenses out of his own pocket, the new president was greeted by cheering crowds and treated to celebratory picnics, dinners, and receptions in every city he visited. After touring New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, Monroe stopped in Boston, where a newspaper hailed his visit as the beginning of an “ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS.” Despite this phrase, there were some bad feelings during this era, too. Free-states in the North and slave-states in the south were finding less and less to like about each other. The economy was also unstable and the nation slid into a serious depression in 1819.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

John Quincy Adams’ four years in office were not easy ones. Although his intelligence, family background, and experience should have made him a great president, he did not have the charisma needed to build a base of loyal supporters. Nevertheless, he and his wife Louisa hosted many dinners at the White House, as required. But John’s cold personality had a chilling effect on others and guests seated near the president at dinner often said that he had a hard time engaging in casual conversation. Aware of his inability to make small talk, Adams chastised himself for his deficiencies in “the art of dinner conversation.”

Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)

Andrew Jackson's victory in the election of 1828 was viewed as a triumph for the common man and for popular democracy. During his two terms of office, just about anyone could come to Jackson's parties and just about everyone did! At his last public reception, a wheel of cheddar cheese weighing 1,400 pounds was devoured by a rowdy crowd in two hours. After that, the White House smelled of cheddar cheese for weeks!

Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)

Having witnessed the chaos of Jackson’s levees first hand, Martin Van Buren prohibited all food and drink from public receptions. Privately, however, Van Buren hosted many extravagant dinner parties at the White House. Using gold plated spoons that James Monroe had purchased years earlier in France, Van Buren added the finest quality cut crystal wine glasses, water bottles, and goblets. Before the election of 1840, Charles Ogle, a Whig Congressman from Pennsylvania, rose to speak in the House of Representatives and launched into a three-day attack on Van Buren’s luxurious lifestyle.

William Henry Harrison (1841-1842)

During William Henry Harrison's presidential campaign, hard cider flowed so fast that he became known as the “Hard Cider Candidate.” To feed his many rowdy supporters, Harrison’s cooks served an election dish called Burgoo, which was made by dropping chopped vegetables into warm squirrel stew!

James Polk (1845-1849)

In 1848, President Polk signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican American War and gave most of present-day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, California, Wyoming, and Utah to the United States. The addition of these vast tracts of lands introduced many Native American, Mexican, and Spanish foods to the United States, like Chile Rellenos, Tamales, and Sopaipilla. Of course, the addition of these lands also intensified the debate over slavery and moved the nation to the brink of civil war.

Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)

After participating in Fourth of July festivities on a blistering hot day, Zachary Taylor ate a large bowl of cherries and a pitcher of iced milk and suddenly fell ill with a terrible stomach ache. Within five days he was dead. At the time, many people believed that Taylor died from food poisoning. Today, most historians agree that Taylor died from gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract.

Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)

The first cast iron cook stove was installed in the White House during Fillmore’s presidency. White House cooks didn’t know how to use the new contraption so Fillmore reportedly marched to the Patent Office, read the instructions included in the patent application, and then showed the cooks how to fire it up!

John Tyler (1842-1845)

John Tyler had eight children with his first wife Letitia who died in 1841. Three years later, he married Julia Gardiner. Together, they had seven children for a grand total of 15 kids!

Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)

In 1854, President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allowed settlers in those territories to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries. The Act outraged many northerners who believed he was supporting slavery in the new southwestern territories and old southern states. Politically disgraced, Pierce became the first president to hire a bodyguard after having been attacked by a detractor with a hard-boiled egg!

James Buchanan (1857-1861)

As president, James Buchanan was often called a doughface. This term originally referred to a mask made of bread dough, but was later applied to people, especially politicians, who were thought to be easily influenced by others. Before the Civil War, the term was usually used to describe Northern Democrats (such as President Buchanan) who sympathized with Southern Democrats and slave owners.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)

Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary allowed their two young sons to keep all sorts of pets on the White House grounds. One was a wild turkey named Jack with whom Lincoln’s son Tad played with daily. When it was time for Jack to be sacrificed for Christmas dinner, Tad begged his dad to spare the turkey’s life. To this day, the White House maintains the tradition of pardoning a turkey each holiday season!

Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)

At the end of the Civil War, the South lay in ruins. Southern plantations and entire cities had been destroyed. Without food, many southerners starved to death, and those who survived lost everything they owned. As a result, the government had to figure out how to rebuild the south. As president, Johnson took charge of the first phase of Reconstruction. But his attempt to quickly readmit the former Confederate states into the union and his vetoes of important civil rights bills outraged Radical Republicans in Congress. The House of Representatives later voted to impeach Johnson, but he was acquitted by a single vote in the Senate. Historians say that Johnson’s victory "marked the beginning of an ambitious series of receptions, dinners and children’s parties that would turn the last nine months of his term into an ongoing celebration."

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

The menu for Ulysses S. Grant’s second inaugural ball reflects the opulence of the Gilded Age. A New York Times article dated March 5, 1873, contains a mind-boggling list of dishes served. Among other provisions were 10,000 fried oysters; 63 boned turkeys; 150 capons stuffed with truffles; 15 saddles of mutton; 200 dozen quails; 200 hams; 250 chickens; 400 partridges; 25 stuffed boar’s heads; 3,000 head cheese sandwiches; 8,000 pickled oysters and 2,000 pounds of lobster. But the best laid plans can go awry, even for a president. The weather that evening was freezing and the temporary ballroom had no heat. Guests danced in their hats and overcoats, the food was cold, they ran out of coffee, and, worst of all, most of the decorative caged canaries (which were supposed to be sweetly singing) froze.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)

“Everything in moderation” was the motto of Rutherford B. Hayes. He usually had “one cup of coffee at breakfast” and “one cup of tea at lunch.” Dinner was usually fish or steak followed by a slice of his wife Lucy’s famous, homemade Angel Cake!

James Garfield (1881)

James Garfield was one of our most intellectual presidents. Before going into politics, he was a professor of ancient languages at Hiram College in Ohio. He was also ambidextrous and biographers say that he would often show off his knowledge by writing Greek with one hand and Latin with the other!

Chester Arthur (1881-1885)

After Garfield was felled by an assassin’s bullet, New York Republicans staged an extravagant pre-inaugural “send-off” for Vice-President Arthur that included “a smorgasbord of seafood, meats, roasts, relishes, game, salads, fondue, fruits, cheeses, and thirty varieties of French pastry,” as well as such “native favorites as mountain oysters and jugged squirrel.”

Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)

In terms of culinary tastes, Grover Cleveland could not have been more different than his predecessor. Cleveland detested the rich French dishes served by White House chefs, preferring instead corned beef and cabbage and other simple foods of his youth. In a letter to a friend, Cleveland lamented, “I must go to dinner. I wish it was to eat a pickled herring, Swiss cheese and a chop…instead of the French stuff I shall find.”

Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)

Benjamin Harrison’s presidency began with a dramatic, three-day centennial observation of George Washington’s inauguration as the first president of the United States. The festivities began on the evening of April 28, 1889 with a reception in the Executive Mansion, followed by a reenactment of Washington’s crossing of New York Harbor by barge under a fuselage of gun salutes and fireworks. The festivities were capped with a lavish banquet, featuring “thirteen wines and thirteen toasts” in honor of the original thirteen colonies.

William McKinley (1897-1901)

“A Full Dinner Pail” was William McKinley’s campaign slogan in the election of 1896. Because the Republican Party was seen as being friendly with big businesses in the east, McKinley’s advisors believed that the president needed to portray himself as more responsive to the needs of small farmers in the Midwest. Their campaign strategy worked. In November of 1896, McKinley defeated the Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan in a landslide.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)

On June 30, 1906, President Roosevelt signed into law the Pure Food and Drug Act which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products. The Act arose in part from articles and exposés written by muckrakers, such as Upton Sinclair, whose 1906 novel THE JUNGLE contained hair-raising descriptions of the way in which meat was produced in Chicago slaughterhouses and stockyards. Sinclair described how “dead rats were shoveled into sausage-grinding” machines; how bribed inspectors “looked the other way” when diseased cows were slaughtered for beef, and how “filth and guts were swept off the floor” and then packaged as “potted ham.”

William Taft (1909-1913)

President Taft kept a family dairy cow named Pauline Wayne on the White House lawn. For two years, Pauline supplied Taft and his family with fresh milk. When Taft left office in 1913, Pauline was shipped back to her former owner in Wisconsin. After that, pasteurized milk replaced raw milk at the White House. A New York Times article dated February 2, 1913, announced the departure of the Taft’s beloved cow this way: “Pauline Wayne, President Taft’s famous Holstein cow, will follow him into retirement March 4.”

Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)

In 1917, President Wilson urged families to observe “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” to help the war effort. He assured Americans that conserving food at home would help support U.S. troops abroad and also feed hungry people in Europe where food production and distribution had been disrupted by war.

Warren Harding (1921-1925)

Warren Harding’s White House advisors were called the "Poker Cabinet" because they played poker with the president so often. Historians say that Harding once gambled away a set of White House china dating back to Benjamin Harrison's day!

Calvin Coolidge (1925-1929)

Nicknamed Silent Cal, Coolidge’s quiet ways were legendary. Calvin’s wife, Grace, often told a story about how a woman sitting next to her husband at a dinner party claimed to have made a bet that she could get at least three words of conversation from him. Without looking at her, President Coolidge supposedly replied, “You lose.”

Herbert Hooover (1929-1933)

During World War I, Herbert Hoover encouraged Americans to voluntarily modify their eating habits so that more food would be available to ship to our troops and allies overseas. Colorful posters and signs appeared in public areas with the slogan, “FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR!” In its first year of operation, Hoover’s program managed to reduce American food consumption by 15 percent without the need for rationing. At war’s end, the New York Times named Hoover one of the “Ten Most Important Living Americans.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)

When FDR moved into the White House in 1932, the United States was in the depths of the Great Depression. Just as Hoover had done in World War I, President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor encouraged Americans to grow their own Victory Gardens. From California to New York, Americans plowed, seeded, watered, weeded, and harvested victory gardens in backyards, parks, baseball fields, and schoolyards. The idea was to grow enough vegetables through the summer to feed family and neighbors. Any extra vegetables would be preserved for eating during the winter and early spring when the next year's produce was ready to eat.

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953)

Born in Lamar, Missouri, Harry Truman favored simple farm-style food like Tuna Noodle Casserole and Pot Roasted Beef. Having served for forty years in the National Guard and United States Army, Truman once said that when it came to food, he “Never noticed what's put before me.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

As Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s favorite cold weather military dish was ox-tail soup. Ike was also fond of Corn Pudding and String Beans Almondine and, for dessert, he liked Prune Whip, Frosted Mint Delight and his wife Mamie’s Deep Dish Apple Pie.

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)

In an October 1962 speech in Houston, Texas, President Kennedy reaffirmed America's commitment to landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, astronaut Neil Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module (nicknamed the “Eagle”) and became the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. The first American astronauts had to eat bland, bite-sized cubes, freeze dried powders and semi-liquids stuffed in aluminum tubes. By the time of the Apollo program, the quality and variety of space food had greatly improved. Apollo astronauts were the first to have hot water, which made rehydrating foods easier and improved the food's taste.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)

The food for most of President Johnson’s barbecues was prepared by a chef named Walter Jetton, who ran a catering business in Fort Worth, Texas, a few hours south of the LBJ Ranch. Calling himself “The Barbeque King,” Mr. Jetton dressed in a Stetson hat, apron, creased white shirt, and string tie, and often had a whole headless cow rotating on a spit beside a smoldering fire!

Richard Nixon (1969-1973)

On the day of Richard Nixon's 1973 inauguration, Pennsylvania Avenue was littered with hundreds of sick and dead pigeons. At the president's request, a chemical bird repellent had been spread on the tree branches along the parade route to drive away the pigeons for the day. The chemicals in the repellent were supposed to cause the birds' feet to itch so they wouldn't sit in the trees. Unfortunately, many birds ate the repellent, causing them to get sick and die along the parade route.

Gerald Ford (1973-1977)

In his 1979 memoir, A Time to Heal, Ford wrote: [My father] and mother had three rules: tell the truth, work hard, and come to dinner on time – and woe unto any of us who violated those rules.

Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)

During the 1976 presidential campaign, Jimmy Carter hosted a “Million Dollar Supper” at the home of his mother, Miss Lillian. More than 100 volunteers – referred to as the Peanut Brigade – cooked the food!

Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)

On January 11, 1989, President Reagan delivered his Farewell Address from the Oval Office. In it, he spoke of his vision of America’s promise and said that “all great change in America begins at the dinner table” in the daily conversations between parent and child.

George H.W. Bush (1989-1997)

As a boy in Massachusetts, George Bush dutifully ate broccoli every day, along with oatmeal and a soft-boiled egg. At a news conference in 1990, President Bush told reporters, “I do not like broccoli and I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it and I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli.” Needless to say, broccoli growers got a little “steamed” by the president’s comment. Within a week, broccoli growers in California had shipped ten tons of the flowery, green vegetable to Washington D.C. where it was donated to homeless shelters to feed the hungry.

Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

In a nationally televised interview during the 1992 presidential campaign, Hilary Clinton said, “I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas. But what I decided to do was pursue my profession.” At the time, many Americans interpreted her comment as a criticism of women who had chosen to stay home to raise their children. In a light-hearted gesture, Mrs. Clinton later served cookies at a press conference and had thousands of cookies distributed at the 1992 Democratic National Convention.

George W. Bush (2001-2009)

When George and Laura Bush moved into the White House, they deliberately departed from the oversized banquets of the Clintons. At their first state dinner, held in honor of the new Mexican president Vicente Fox, the Bushes served Pumpkin Seed-Crusted Bison Steak and both presidents appeared in tuxedos and cowboy boots.

Barack Obama (2009-present)

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama was “pleased to eat pretty much anything,” from grilled fish and Planter’s trail mix to cheeseburgers and ice cream. During his weekly lunches with Vice President Biden, President Obama usually orders up a cheeseburger, chicken or fish and requests his favorite organic drink called “Honest Tea.” His favorite flavors are said to be Green Dragon and Black Forest Berry.